The Stony Brook Medicine Healthy Libraries Program (HeLP) is a partnership between the Public Libraries of Suffolk County, a unique group of healthcare professionals and graduate student interns from the fields of social work, public health, nursing, nutrition, medicine and library science, working together to provide access to both in-person and virtual healthcare related resources for public library patrons throughout Suffolk County. This partnership looks to enhance the health and well-being of Suffolk County residents through library programming, collection development and dissemination of information on current health topics impacting our communities. The program is supported in part by the American Heart Association of Long Island.
The goal of the program is to:
- Provide evidence-based health information, screening, and case management to a diverse community of patrons in the public library setting.
- Refer patrons to promote access to appropriate health and social services programs locally that will address their health and social support needs.
- For students to experience an interprofessional team and demonstrate the core competencies based on the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC).
- To support programs, trainings, and provide resources for librarians and their patrons.